The top 8 microscopic images you'll ever see

Every year, Nikon sponsors a contest for microscopic images to showcase "the beauty and complexity of life as seen through the light microscope." Here are some of the entrants for this year's contest, from terrifying spiders to awe-inspiring minerals.

Nikon Small World's Photomicrography Competition, founded in 1977, gives us a glimpse of a world we rarely see: the magnified lives of animals, the surface of minerals and stones, the fibers of a leaf. Some photos resemble Hollywood CGI, others look like someone had fun with Photoshop. But they are as real as it gets.

The winners won't be announced until next week, but in the meantime enjoy the top 8 photos we spotted in the entrants group: